SITUATION

We have arrived at our first stop on our roadmap for 2017: Jets DLC is now available on Main Branch! Arma 3 Jets represents a significant enhancement to Arma 3's combined arms experience, and we look forward to see how our community's fighter pilots scramble and claim control of the Altis and/or Tanoa skies. Meanwhile, as with every major update, our development team stands guard to catch any reported issues and respond to feedback.

INTELLIGENCE

After more than a year of development and coordination, Jets DLC is now available on Bohemia Store and Steam. The premium fighter jets, drone and Showcase scenario, together with the free new content (e.g. the USS Freedom) and new engine features make for a nice package that yet again expands the Armaverse in many ways. We've unleashed the beast just yesterday (which also just so happened to be the release anniversary of the amazing Top Gun). To list some of our favorite parts about this DLC, we published a new Top 10 article outlining the additions and improvements with some complimentary GIFs.

Update 1.70, despite its strong focus on jets, also brings improvements to other areas of the game. For example, End Game scenarios will now use the Dynamic Simulation feature and thus benefit from a better performance. Also, VTOLs should now handle more reliably, while tank vehicles are now equipped with the Fire Control System to predict projectile impact. These are just some examples, feel free to check out the whole changelog to get a complete overview. Over the next few days we'll also be evaluating the feedback from our forums and Feedback Tracker to determine if a hotfix for Update 1.70 will be required.

Project Lead Joris-Jan van 't Land, currently working on the "Orange" DLC at our Amsterdam studio, was interviewed by HeliSimmer. It talks about Joris'personal passion for helicopter flight, and discusses some of the decisions that helped shape Take On Helicopters and Arma 3 in terms of helicopter simulation. It's a great read for flight(sim) enthusiasts!

Jets DLC also brings new additions to the already existing pool of texts and dialogs. Our very own Localization hero Vojtěch Schubert‏ fought a brave battle to have them all translated into the 11 languages that Arma 3 is distributed in. This work involves lots of communicating, coordinating between our developers and translators, and proof-reading. Thanks for the hard work, Vojtěch. It's certainly appreciated!

LOGISTICS

The Arma 3 Tools package was updated to version 1.010, which makes some improvements to several applications. To name some: Work Driveis now able to unpack single PBO files to a custom destination, terrain data layers are left out by default when unpacking, and Addon Builder now checks that a destination drive exists before it starts packing. The complete set of changes are now available on the Dev Hub.

Celebrated with a launch trailer, Bohemia Interactive today released the anticipated Jets DLC for its tactical military shooter game, Arma 3. The Jets DLC delivers three air-superiority jets, an Unmanned Aerial Combat Vehicle, a new Showcase scenario, and more. The package is complemented by a free Arma 3 platform update, which introduces massive content (literally!) in the form of an aircraft carrier, and implements various new gameplay features related to fixed-wing aircraft.

Arma 3 Jets DLC Key Features

F/A-181 Black Wasp II - The F/A-181 Black Wasp II is a fifth-generation, single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter jet. The aircraft was designed primarily as an air-superiority fighter, but also has ground attack capabilities. Its additional external hard points enable the aircraft to carry a wide variety of weapons configurations. The Black Wasp is fitted with the required equipment for carrier operations.

To-201 Shikra - The To-201 Shikra is a fifth-generation, single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter jet. The aircraft was designed by a CSAT and Russian joint syndicate with the goal to build a highly agile and maneuverable air-superiority fighter. Similar to the F/A-181, the To-201 also has ground attack capabilities, and is able to support various weapons configurations via its conventional pylons, but also its internal weapons bay.

A-149 Gryphon - The A-149 Gryphon is a fourth-generation, single-seat, single-engine, and all-weather tactical fighter jet. The aircraft was designed as a multi-role platform at an affordable cost, and unlike some of the larger air-superiority jets, it can also perform well in low-altitude flight. Despite its aging platform, the A-149 has still been upgraded with the newest sensors and weapons systems.

Sentinel - The Sentinel is a fifth-generation, state-of-the-art, twin-engine, all-weather tactical Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV). The Sentinel was designed primarily as a reconnaissance platform, but can also perform precision ground attacks. It typically operates from an aircraft carrier.

Showcase Fighter Jets - Take to the skies above Altis and engage in air-to-air and air-to-ground combat in a brand new Showcase scenario.

The Jets DLC is supported by the 1.70 platform update, which features new content and features. This platform update is free for all owners of Arma 3. Its highlights include:

Extended Hitpoints - The damage model of fixed-wing aircraft has been upgraded to the level of detail of other vehicle classes in Arma 3.

Dynamic Vehicle Loadouts - Players can now customize their vehicle's armament. In the case of jets, this means you can choose what kind of ordnance each pylon carries.

Other Improvements - Various audio enhancements, tweaked controls, several new scripted solutions such as ejection seat emergency procedures, and more.

Aircraft Carrier "USS Freedom" (CVN-83) - A nuclear-powered aircraft supercarrier which can carry various aircraft, and supports catapult take-offs and tailhook landings. The aircraft carrier is a static in-game object that can be positioned across the map via the 3D Scenario Editor, but cannot be 'driven'.

For a complete overview of the Arma 3 Jets’ content and features, check out the official website at www.arma3.com/dlc/jets. To keep track of all the latest news, also be sure to follow Arma 3 on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Steam.

SITUATION

With less than two weeks to go before the release of Jets DLC, we're now finishing all of the remaining tasks, making sure that everything will be in a splendid state at launch. This means we're sweeping bugs left and right, preparing the data for final adjustments, and processing the community feedback. Meanwhile, various covert units in our development team are also working on the other DLC listed on our 2017 roadmap.

INTELLIGENCE

The Release Candidate branch for Update 1.70 (which includes Jets DLC) is now open for everyone. This RC-Branch serves as a final testing ground for Arma 3 players, helping us to reach a stable build, and enabling Arma 3 content creators to prepare their mods and ensure compatibility with 1.70 upon release. Aside from the new jets, all new features and other additions can also be tested and played with. We really appreciate all of the feedback we received thus far, be it on social media (reddit, Twitter), our forums, or the Feedback Tracker.

In SITREP #00191 we've announced the arrival of the USS Freedom, a full-sized aircraft supercarrier with the ability to launch and recover naval aircraft, and which is supported by autonomous weapon systems. Since then, the ship has safely docked at Dev-Branch bay, which already resulted in some splendid screenshots being shared on social media (including some by our own CEO!).

Community video creator CallMehTOMMEH has manufactured a great unofficial fan trailer for Jets DLC and published it to his YouTube Channel. In a nearly five-minute long video, we get to see beautiful shots of the new DLC aircraft flying above the Arma 3 terrains, dog fighting at low altitudes, and even the majestic USS Freedom makes an appearance. Splendid work as always, CallMehTOMMEH. Keep it up!

Designer Ondřej Kužel shared an OPREP to discuss one of the highlighted new engine features supporting the release of Jets DLC. In his juicy report, Ondřej speaks about the overhaul to vehicle sensors, and provides in-depth explanation and advice on their functionality and usage. Other than that, he also looks back at the decisions made over the course of development. For the rest, the additional control keys coming to Arma 3 are also explained. It's a great and very in-depth read and certainly recommended to any Arma 3 and/or aviation enthusiast!

OPERATIONS

The Jets DLC will also come with a new Showcase scenario, which demonstrates some of these new improvements. Showcase Fighter Jets puts the player into the cockpit of the new Black Wasp II with various tasks to complete after taking off from the carrier. Owners of the DLC can already try the scenario on the Dev- and Release Candidate branches. Good luck and have fun!

One rather 'unheard of' addition to Dev-Branch is Sonic Boom. This feature simulates the shock wave created by an object travelling faster than the speed of sound, and is now properly configured for vanilla Arma 3 aircraft. It can be enjoyed both while flying the air assets or by observing them from the ground. Interestingly, Sonic Boom is not the first supersonic addition to Arma 3. Our veterans may remember the addition of sonic cracks caused by bullets fired from most of the weapons. This simulation was massively overhauled for the Marksmen DLC as an engine feature and we're now happy to enrich the auditory immersion even more.

While our recent Dev-Branch additions focused mostly on the upcoming Jets DLC, we have one more small surprise prepared for the owners of the Apex Expansion. Update 1.70 will include the new Showcase "VTOL" scenario. This rich and immersive scenario, which started as a pet project of Designer Václav Oliva, teaches players how to operate VTOL aircraft. We originally hoped to release it as part of the Apex package, but it unfortunately had to be postponed in the heat of development prioritization. However, we still felt that the VTOL class of aircraft deserved its own Showcase; it will soon be ready for all to enjoy!

As soon as Arma 3 Jets DLC appeared on the horizon, we began to think about its so-called 'platform features' (improvements available to everyone that owns Arma 3). One of the key items on our wishlist was the 'radar' (also sometimes known as 'magic radar' to its detractors!). While its ease-of-use was convenient in some ways, Jets DLC represented a splendid opportunity to add more depth to detection and targeting gameplay. Now - after many, many hours of development, and the commitment of the whole team (and Electronic Warfare Task Force in particular!) - we're almost ready to distribute our new approach to our Arma 3 service members.

SITUATION

After a short Easter break, the Arma 3 development team is working together with BRAVO ZERO ONE Studios to apply the finishing touches to the Jets DLC. Internally, we have entered a Data Lock period. That means that every change to the internal development build of the game will now need to be individually reviewed and approved to ensure a smooth and stable build. Prepare to take off, this REPort will be full of Jets details!

INTELLIGENCE

Last week, four brand new Jets assets have entered Arma 3's air space. Dev-Branch players who pre-ordered the Jets DLC have the possibility to take the F/A-181 Black Wasp II, To-201 Shikra, A-149 Gryphon, and the Sentinel UAV for a test flight. In addition, new Crew Deck Vests are available as well. Together with B01 Studios, we are processing all the splendid feedback on the forums and Feedback Tracker. If you did not yet pre-order the DLC, but still want to try the premium additions, head over to the Virtual Garage and check them out without restriction!

There still is, however, one very large addition yet to enter Arma 3's Dev-Branch waters. Revealed in a splendid trailer, the CVN-83 USS Freedom is a full-sized aircraft supercarrier able to launch and recover naval aircraft. The ship can be placed in the map via the Eden Editor as a static object, and is reinforced by autonomous defensive systems (which can indeed be placed individually as well). We cannot wait for all the player-created scenarios and #armachinima videos to surface either on Steam Workshop or YouTube. We plan to unleash the carrier to Dev-Branch somewhere in the upcoming days.

Now that we know what the Jets DLC has to offer, let's talk a bit more about the road to its release. All of the assets are either already on Dev-Branch (aircraft and Crew Deck Vests), or will arrive there very shortly (CVN-83 USS Freedom and its autonomous turrets). A Showcase scenario is also being prepared, but it will need some more time and tweaks before it's ready to be introduced to Dev-Branch. As per usual with every planned Main Branch update, we intend to start a Release Candidate branch in a week or two in order to polish the build to a splendid state. This effort will culminate on May 16th, which is the official release date for the Jets DLC along with Update 1.70. Until that time, it is possible to pre-order the DLC on Steam and Bohemia Store with a 10% discount. To save even more, consider buying the Arma 3 DLC Bundle 2, which contains all of the currently planned upcoming additions (Jets DLC, "Orange" DLC, Tac-Ops DLC, and Tanks DLC), and is 25% cheaper than buying each of them separately.

We are proud of the fact that the Jets DLC is being developed in close cooperation with an external third-party development team, BRAVO ZERO ONE Studios. B01's Project Lead, Joshua “Saul” Carpenter, wrote an OPREP to expand upon the creation of the Jets assets, some of the decisions their team had to make during the process, and the cooperation with Bohemia Interactive in general. It is a great and inspirational OPREP for anyone interested in game development and creating new Arma 3 assets from scratch.

Make Arma Not War winners Red Hammer Studios updated their RHS mod with new additions and fixes. Patch 0.4.2.2 adds new sounds, mortar rounds and optics, and AK rifles to an already rich collection of assets. The RHS mod is available on Steam Workshop and via the RHS web page. Congratulation to the team on the release!

The freedom of Arma 3's sandbox combined with the creativity of our players is something that continues to amaze us again and again. This time, Andy Kelly takes on the role of Zeus, and guides his fellow PC Gamer editors through various crazy challenges on Tanoa. These challenges involve a death karts race, hiding from attack helicopters, and a last-man-standing scenario. As you might imagine, plenty of unexpected and hilarious events occur - resulting in a brilliant and entertaining article to read!

OPERATIONS

One of the most anticipated engine features coming along with Jets DLC is the selection of Dynamic Loadouts. With the possibility to choose the precise ordnance, missiles, bombs, and rockets of an aircraft, we are adding support for this addition to more and more vanilla vehicles. Technical Designer Jiří Lank explains what will change in the game data: "Current plane classes will now be hidden in game. Community can still use and reference them for backwards compatibility - current scenarios (or any creation using the old models/classes) will still work without any issue. In Eden Editor, players will select freshly configured assets with Dynamic Loadouts by default and the old ones will no longer be visible."

A brand new modification to Arma 3 has surfaced recently. Created by Bohemia Interactive developer Adam Franců in his free time, Arma 3: Original War aims to bring the best of two game genres together. Adam expands on this idea: "Arma 3: Original War is a modification that focuses on remaking the legendary strategy gameOriginal War within Arma 3's Real Virtuality engine. It utilizes Arma 3's Zeus to offer a unique combination of RTS and FPS, fully supported within the multiplayer environment of Arma 3. See the conflict from different perspectives - play either as an RTS player - responsible for building bases, researching technologies, manufacturing vehicles and defeating enemies with all possible assets - or as an FPS player, helping in resource collection. Most importantly, be a very important asset when it comes to the battleground."

Korneel van 't Land has informed us that Arma 3 Jets DLC will be released on May 16. the Jets DLC will be accompanied by a free platform update that improves the game for everyone. The main highlights of this update are the ‘sensor overhaul’ to improve targeting and target detection, an upgraded fixed-wing damage model with more hitpoints and new damage effects, dynamic vehicle loadouts.As a special surprise, Bohemia Interactive will add the CVN-83 “USS Freedom” Aircraft Carrier, a massive bonus content, available for free to everyone who owns Arma 3.

In follow up to their latest dev diary, which discussed the planned new content for Arma 3 in 2017, Bohemia Interactive today announced the release date of the first upcoming DLC package: Arma 3 Jets. Available worldwide on May 16th 2017, the Jets DLC will enhance the combined arms experience by adding three new air-superiority jets, an Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV), a new Showcase scenario, and more.

As is protocol with each Arma 3 DLC release, the Jets DLC will be accompanied by a free platform update that improves the game for everyone. The main highlights of this update are the ‘sensor overhaul’ to improve targeting and target detection, an upgraded fixed-wing damage model with more hitpoints and new damage effects, dynamic vehicle loadouts, and various other jets-related improvements.

In addition, as a special surprise, Bohemia Interactive is proud to reveal truly massive bonus content in the form of the CVN-83 “USS Freedom” Aircraft Carrier (watch new trailer). This nuclear-powered aircraft supercarrier, which will be available for free to everyone who owns Arma 3, serves as a naval main operating base, and can carry various aircraft and helicopters on board. In terms of in-game functionality, the ship is a static object that can be positioned across the map via the 3D Scenario Editor, but cannot be 'driven'. The carrier supports catapult take-offs and tailhook landings, and features functional autonomous defensive weapon systems.

Arma 3 Jets DLC Key Features

F/A-181 Black Wasp II - The F/A-181 Black Wasp II is a fifth-generation, single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter jet. The aircraft was designed primarily as an air-superiority fighter, but also has ground attack capabilities. Its additional external hard points enable the aircraft to carry a wide variety of weapons configurations. The Black Wasp is fitted with the required equipment for carrier operations.

To-201 Shikra - The To-201 Shikra is a fifth-generation, single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter jet. The aircraft was designed by a CSAT and Russian joint syndicate with the goal to build a highly agile and maneuverable air-superiority fighter. Similar to the F/A-181, the To-201 also has ground attack capabilities, and is able to support various weapons configurations via its conventional pylons, but also its internal weapons bay.

A-149 Gryphon - The A-149 Gryphon is a fourth-generation, single-seat, single-engine, and all-weather tactical fighter jet. The aircraft was designed as a multi-role platform at an affordable cost, and unlike some of the larger air-superiority jets, it can also perform well in low-altitude flight. Despite its aging platform, the A-149 has still been upgraded with the newest sensors and weapons systems.

Sentinel - The Sentinel is a fifth-generation, state of the line, twin-engine, all-weather tactical Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV). The Sentinel was designed primarily as a reconnaissance platform, but can also perform precision ground attacks. It typically operates from an aircraft carrier.

Showcase Fighter Jets - Take to the skies above Altis and engage in air-to-air and air-to-ground combat in a brand new Showcase scenario.

The Jets DLC is now available for pre-order on the Bohemia Store and Steam with a 10% pre-order discount (original price: € 9.99 / $ 11.99 / £ 8.99). Alternatively, if they already wish to enlist for all planned upcoming DLC, players can purchase the Arma 3 DLC Bundle 2 on the Bohemia Store or Steam (€ 22.99 / $ 24.99 / £ 19.99), which saves more than 25% over purchasing the upcoming Jets, “Orange” (working title), Tac-Ops, and Tanks DLC separately.

For a complete overview of the Arma 3 Jets’ content and features, check out the official website at www.arma3.com/dlc/jets. To keep track of all the latest news, also be sure to follow Arma 3 on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Steam.

SITUATION

The development team is now working on the last bits of Jets DLC content so it can be deployed on Dev-Branch Soon™. Some of our designers are planning and recording some new voice-acting, while our artists are polishing the remaining assets in cooperation with BRAVO ZERO ONE Studios. We are also evaluating the state of the game overall, following the significant Update 1.68 (and its hotfix).

INTELLIGENCE

It has become somewhat of a spring tradition that Creative Director Jay Crowe prepares a devblog to scan the horizon for upcoming Arma 3 content and features. In a splendid video (accompanied by a brief introduction), viewers get to see all of the new aircraft in the upcoming Jets DLC for the first time. We also explore some of the new platform features that come with them. Aside from that, Jay discusses all of the other DLCs planned for this year and beyond. We expect to share more details closer to each DLC's individual release.

The Jets DLC is due for release in May and can be pre-ordered with a 10% discount exclusively on the Bohemia Store. The DLC Bundle 2, consisting of Arma 3 Jets, Arma 3 "Orange" (working title), Arma 3 Tac-Ops, and Arma 3 Tanks, is available for purchase both on the Bohemia Store and Steam. To avoid any confusion: the only other product of the game that contains all of these (and future) DLCs is the Arma 3 Supporter Edition, which was available only during Arma 3's Public Alpha & Beta (and thus is no longer on sale). These supporters will receive all of this DLC for free as part of that edition.

In the Scanning the Horizon video, we promised one or two little surprises for our players that are yet to be unveiled. One of them was revealed last Saturday, and aims to improve your dance moves on the battlefield. Whether you're waiting for an extraction or for your squad mates to prepare their loadouts, there's always time to bust out some moves. Unfortunately, we had to decide to postpone the Switch Move DLC indefinitely as we realized that nobody in our team is a skilled enough dancer to motion capture everything to our satisfaction.

A new promising community mode has surfaced! Arma At War (AAW) is a competitive, team-based, and tactical, PvP game mode. It has been in development for over a year now, and the team, lead by Hoegnison, tries to combine accessible fun with hardcore elements. Hoegnison explains: "In its vanilla version, players do not require any mod and can easily hop on a server to try it out. While we are trying to make the entry barrier as low as possible, we will still include depth and complexity. Due AAWs framework character, it is easy to implement modifications and customize your gameplay experience as well." There are currently three servers running the mode as part of its final testing. The AAW team would appreciate it if more people came and tried it out. You can get more information via their Discord channel.

Admirers of precise movement and strict weapon discipline in Arma 3 are most likely already familiar with the Firing Drills. This set of Challenge scenarios aims to increase your weapon and movement skills. Of course, this also represents an opportunity to show off. TacticallySlow did exactly that by placing himself among the Top 50 of the Leaderboards in two different Courses of Fire. Great job, TacticallySlow, we can't wait for what CoF you attempt to master next!

OPERATIONS

In the previous SITREP, we talked about a hotfix for the 1.68 Update. Since then, this hotfix has been set free in the wild. With such a major change as the 64-bit executable certainly is, it is nearly impossible to catch all issues before release. Fortunately, our reports show that the vast majority of our players indeed experience some performance boost and better overall stability of the game. Sadly, some players (mostly those using laptops with integrated / hybrid graphics cards) may still experience performance drops or start-up crashes. We are in the process of collecting feedback and will be ready to address these issues as soon as the fixes are tested and confirmed by our Quality Assurance Department.

Meanwhile, Dev-Branch has welcomed a couple of new additions. Altis and Stratis are now brought on par with Tanoa in terms of the environmental audio. Players can hear the sounds of wind or rain when walking past trees in forests. Cicadas are audible from the bushes, and meadows and birds can be heard from the tree tops. Our Audio ninjas are now working on adding sounds to specific structures (such as wind turbines, AC units, and others). On a different topic, platform improvements for Jets DLC are being expanded as well. For example, more vanilla vehicles are now configured to use Dynamic Loadouts (e.g. the To-199 Neophron and the Mi-48 Kajman).

The printed version of the Tanoa map, the South Pacific terrain featured in the Arma 3 Apex expansion, is now available on the Bohemia Store. Follow the example of our CEO Marek Španěl and grab one for yourself and/or your friends!

SITUATION

We're now collecting feedback from Update 1.68, which was released last week. To quickly address some of the most reported issues, we're considering to release a small hotfix. Meanwhile, we're about to reveal more details on the upcoming DLC and their content. But before that, let's take a closer look at what's happening/happened in Arma 3 land.

INTELLIGENCE

Later this week, we plan to publish a brand new Scanning The Horizon: Arma 3 in 2017 video blog. In this video, Arma 3's Creative Director Jay Crowe will discuss the upcoming DLCs and platform updates: "Last autumn, we shared our roadmap for 2016-17 and beyond. In it, we mapped out a high-level plan to support Arma 3 with splendid new content additions and platform updates. Since then - aside from a brief winter hibernation - we've been hard at work turning those plans into reality." He adds: "It's also become something of a tradition for us to celebrate the New Year with a quick retrospective of our progress, and a look ahead at the development in front of us. 2017’s no exception, and it's our pleasure to present our plans, with a particular focus upon Jets DLC." We cannot wait to present the new Intel to you, our community, so stand by for our broadcast later this week!

While the Armachinima Awards have now concluded, we still love to come back to these splendid community creations - either for an inspiration or just for a good laugh. Our [b]second and third place winners satisfy both of these needs. 'Miller the Killer' shows an extraordinary supply of targets in front of a merciless soldier, while 'The Choice' sends a thought-proving message instead. Both are [b]outstanding in their own unique way and we'd like to congratulate the creators on their victory!

This Saturday, 8 elite teams will fight in the community-organized 'ArmAWorld Coopetition #006' tournament. In this event, teams challenge other teams in a story-based scenarios. You can watch the live stream, with commentary by the tournament's German hosts, via the video embedded below. Good luck to all competitors!

OPERATIONS

Last week, Arma 3 has received a much-anticipated update. With version 1.68, we introduced the 64-bit game executables to Main-Branch users. While 64-bit is certainly the highlight of this update, it features plenty of other adjustments as well. Be sure to check the SPOTREP (fun fact: the changelog is so huge that our IT specialists had to fiddle with some limits of our web database before we could publish it). We're thrilled to see that more than 80% of Arma 3's player base are now using the 64-bit exes!

So, what to expect from 64-bit? First of all, you will see better usage of your PC's memory. Arma 3 should now be able to utilize most of it, making the framerate more consistent and gameplay much smoother. Despite of a prolonged RC testing period, there are some issues that need ironing out. Administratively, we forgot to deliver documentation for 64-bit server admins. A Dedicated Server requires its own server.cfg. Fortunately, thanks to the King Of The Hill team, we managed to correct this mistake quickly. Check this reddit post for more details. Players can also experience issues with their graphics drivers not switching correctly between GPUs (on-board vs dedicated), resulting in degraded performance of the game. We are in talk with third-party driver developers to resolve this issue as soon as possible. Meanwhile, there is a work-around to force the 64-executable to use your dedicated (normally more powerful) graphics card. Those who don't want to change the default settings of the GPU drivers, please consider using the 32-bit executable until an update of the drivers is released.

Based on the feedback, we are now preparing a hotfix to address some outstanding issues and bring more comfort to our players. If things go well, we'd like to release it at the end of this or during next week.

Last two weeks were also busy on Dev-Branch. Senior Designer Karel Mořický has overhauled the DLC Content Browser, making more room for all future DLCs - and improving the way premium assets are presented. We've also added (work-in-progress!) preview videos on hover.

With the release of Jets DLC approaching, we're applying the final touches to some of the new features. New MFD sources ("ImpactDistance", "Throttle", "PilotCamera", "LaserOn") and parameter ("refreshRate" - with range from 0 to 1) are yet another addition to HUD and HMD technology (brought to you by Senior Programmer Jakub Horyna and Technical Artist Maciej Pham). These recent improvements aim to increase the usability and informational value of the diegetic elements together with more variety and authenticity. Read about the progress on the forums. A new isDamageAllowed script command (requested the community) should help community modders to better find out whether damage is disabled on a given entity.

LOGISTICS

Arma 3 Tools received an update as well. The most significant part of is new detection of 64-bit DLLs and support for 64-bit executables in the Work Drive. Inspect the TECHREP to get a full overview of the changes.The Bohemia Forums front page was updated to present a more clear overview of Bohemia games (including Incubator titles). This streamlined presentation allows for a more organized and cleaner organization of Bohemia Interactive's growing portfolio.

Korneel van 't Land has informed us that Bohemia Interactive had published a new video to offer a special first look at the upcoming Jets DLC and to show their plans for Arma 3 in 2017.

Celebrating the major milestone of more than 3 million Arma 3 copies sold, Bohemia Interactive today published a new video to offer a special first look at the upcoming Jets DLC and to discuss their plans for Arma 3 in 2017 and beyond.

In the video, Creative Director Jay Crowe provides a quick retrospective of Arma 3’s journey so far, and scans the horizon for what is currently in development.

Jay Crowe:"It's become something of a yearly tradition to share our plans for Arma 3 via a quick retrospective of progress, and a look ahead at the work in front of us. Although 2017’s no exception - it's once again our pleasure to present our development, with a particular focus on the upcoming Jets DLC - this year is extra special, as we celebrate passing the 3 million milestone for the Arma 3 playerbase."

Penciled in for May 2017, the Arma 3 Jets DLC introduces three new fighter jets, a new Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV), a new Showcase scenario, Steam Achievements, and more. The Jets DLC will be accompanied by a free platform update introducing a sensor overhaul to enhance targeting, an improved fixed-wing damage model by extending the number of hitpoints and damage effects, dynamic vehicle loadouts, and various other jet-related improvements. Arma 3 Jets is the first Arma 3 DLC to be developed in partnership with a third-party external development team, BRAVO ZERO ONE Studios (which is led by Make Arma Not War winner Joshua "Saul" Carpenter).

To celebrate the 16th anniversary of the Arma series, Bohemia Interactive will release the free Arma 3 Malden DLC on June 22nd 2017. This DLC includes a re-imagination of the classic Malden terrain featured in the very first Arma game. In addition, the studio will release a new (and free) cooperative multiplayer mode, named ‘Combat Patrol’. Here, players need to accomplish various objectives as part of an infantry team, and each playthrough will be different thanks to the mode’s heavily randomized nature.

While the exact theme of the Arma 3 "Orange" DLC (working title) (est. Q3 2017) will be announced at a later date, this upcoming new package will explore an interesting and unique perspective on the battlefield. The Arma 3 "Orange" DLC will include new vehicles, new clothing and gear, new decorative objects, a mini-campaign, Showcase and Challenge scenarios, and more. In terms of size, the "Orange DLC" stands somewhere in between the Arma 3 Karts and Arma 3 Helicopters/Marksmen/Jets/Tanks DLC.

The Arma 3 Tac-Ops DLC (est. Q4 2017) will deliver a set of ‘tactical operations’. These singleplayer scenarios will focus upon challenging, replayable, and authentic military gameplay - making the best use of Arma 3's sandbox terrain, vehicles, and weapons.

The Arma 3 Tanks DLC (est. Q1 2018) will build on the experience of armored combat in Arma 3 by delivering three new armored vehicles, new playable content, and more. The package will be accompanied by a free platform update, which will implement new features and improvements related to tracked and armored vehicles.

While the official release of the Arma 3 Jets DLC is scheduled for May 2017, Bohemia Interactive intends to make its contents available for public testing on Arma 3’s Dev-Branch in the next few weeks. To gain pre-release access, players should pre-order the Arma 3 Jets DLC on the Bohemia Store with a 10% pre-order discount (original price: € 9.99 / $ 11.99 / £ 8.99).

NOTES

Consider using the Steam client option to verify the integrity of the local game cache to avoid corrupted data after downloading this update.

Consider defragmenting your HDD after downloading large updates.

Updating a deeply moddable game and its platform is not without risks. We use various methods to communicate upcoming changes to our awesome modding community, such as via the Dev Hub. We also co-operate directly on troubleshooting, and we offer an opportunity to test updates via our Release Candidate tests. Modders, server administrators and other members of the community do their best to prepare for updates and to address issues post-release as quickly as possible. Please be mindful of some interruptions (especially in the first hours / days after a release) while we all work to improve the game together.

A Legacy Build Steam branch is available for advanced users. It contains the previous significant main branch version (1.66). It can be used to compare specific changes between major releases. The access code for this branch is: Arma3Legacy166

SITUATION

The development team is now in the final stages of preparing Update 1.68 for its release. At the moment, we're still polishing some things, and testing the update in a multiplayer environment. Aside from that, we're also investigating reports of crashes on 32-bit clients. Once we have all the last fixes ready and confirmed by our Quality Assurance department, we hope to release the update some time next week.

INTELLIGENCE

The #Armachinima Awards have concluded, and it's been a blast! After watching all of the videos from the top ten, members of the development team voted internally for their favorite video, and as a result, we announced the winners! Congratulations to KinglesPringles for taking the top spot with "BRASS". Spot-on, highly polished video editing, picture & music synchronization, great attention to detail: these are the attributes that made BRASS stand out. We'll be spotlighting more of the nominee entries in upcoming SITREPs.

Now that this contest has reached its finale, we would like to congratulate the winners yet again, and compliment all participants for their splendid work. Also, a big thanks goes out to everyone who showed their support by encouraging the creators and voting for their favorite entries. We are truly grateful and proud to see the determination, creativity, and comradery that drives the Arma community!

It is exactly four years now since Arma 3 was introduced to the Steam Early Access program with its Alpha release. To celebrate this remarkable anniversary, Project Lead Petr Kolář shares kind words to our players: "Fours years ago, Arma 3 went out in Public Alpha on the spearhead of Early Access (technically before the Early Access itself was introduced). The whole team was looking forward to the community reactions and got positively surprised - community members looking for the Supporters Edition of the game even managed to effectively 'DDoS' the Bohemia Store. The Arma 3 team was dedicated to deliver the best to you, the community, ever since. Meanwhile, we have managed to tackle many highly-requested features; and will continue to do so. Thank you for staying with us on the bumpy roads of Arma 3, time flies when you are having fun!"

The latest Dev Photo takes place in our Mike studio. One of Arma 3's military authenticity consultants Ash spent a week with us and shared his feedback and knowledge on all of the upcoming DLCs as well as Arma 3 in general. We've discussed potential improvements to some of our existing systems, feasibility of some proposals, and had a great time during internal multiplayer sessions. It was splendid, hope to see you again soon, Ash!

OPERATIONS

Several games from the Arma series are now temporarly available at a very low price as part of a recent Humble Bundle. Arma 3 is included! For only 15$, you can get Arma 3 and also the Karts DLC along with Arma 2 (and several expansions), Arma Tactics, and the good old classic Arma: Cold War Assault. What's even better: you can directly contribute to the American Red Cross and their charity activities. Grab your Bundle while you can, the offer won't last long. To all the new recruits to the Armaverse: welcome!

A few significant additions made their way to Dev-Branch over the past weeks. Let's take a look at some of these. First up, new dialog controls aim to improve the way information is displayed to the players in the UI by allowing for interactive tables and rows. Developed originally for the Project Argo Open Prototype by Senior Designer Vladimír Hynek and Programmer Rastislav Tisovčík, Arma 3 now also fully supports this technology and is made available in the recent Dev-Branch builds. Visit the Community Wiki page to check the documentation. We look forward to see all the new creations made by community scripters.

We've also seen the arrival of new script commands: modelToWorldWorld and modelToWorldVisualWorld convert positions from object model space to the world space (that is not affected by terrain height), reportRemoteTarget expands the Datalink functionality, and a new endl script command creates a string containing a line break. Feel free to provide feedback on these commands in the general Dev-Branch discussion on the forums.

Last but not least, one of the first additions related to the upcoming Tanks DLC is now available to Dev-Branch users. The new Fire Control Systemaims to to improve the way tank gunners set up, zero, and operate their weapon. After lasing the target (the 'T' key by default), the main and also the coaxial machine gun will be automatically adjusted according to the target's distance and motion. This corresponds with the real-life usage of the system, making engaging a moving target from within a moving vehicle possible. Please provide your feedback on the forums thread. It is very much appreciated!

LOGISTICS

The Dev-Branch of the Arma 3 Tools was recently updated. Among other changes, the package is now being prepared for the 64-bit executable release planned as part of Update 1.68. The complete changelog is available on the forums.

SITUATION

We are currently processing the feedback from the Release Candidate for the upcoming 1.68 Update (which includes the 64-bit executables). If these final tests come back positive, we intend to release the update to Main-Branch within the next few weeks. In addition, our development team is working on the various DLC listed on our 2016-17 Roadmap, which will bring new assets, playable content, and engine features and other platform improvements.

INTELLIGENCE

We've reached the submission deadline for the #Armachinima Awards. Now it is time for you to help us select the 10 nominees! There are more than 100 videos to watch, and everyone has 3 votes in total to distribute. So grab a drink (or two) and head over to the #Armachinima web page. You can vote, and change your vote, up until the deadline on February 27th, 09:00 CET (GMT+1). Afterwards, the Arma 3 development team will select 3 winners from the nominees. Have fun everyone!

Mudspike.com, a web portal specialized in writing articles on aviation, published an elaborate piece on drones in Arma 3. Taking a detailed look at Arma 3's UAVs, the author describes the handling, armament, and gameplay of these unmanned vehicles. It is certainly an interesting article to read if you are interested in an outsider's perspective on some of the flying mechanics.

OPERATIONS

Some of the new engine features that are being developed in anticipation of the upcoming Jets DLC are starting to surface on Dev-Branch. One of these is Dynamic Loadouts, which allows for in-game customization of a vehicle's armament, which changes the way that airplanes operate in different situations. The ability to select the loadout for each pylon was requested by our community for a long time, and we're glad to finally be able to implement this alongside Jets' new premium assets. You can find the Work-In-Progress documentation on the Community Wiki, and please let us know your feedback on the forums.

Another new platform feature coming alongside the Jets DLC is Datalink, which was also recently added to Dev-Branch. Designer Ondřej Kužel explains what it is: "Datalink is a new feature that expands the Sensor Overhaul. It allows vehicle operators to automatically transmit and/or receive information about targets to/from other vehicles of the same side." Additionally, new config parameters (receiveRemoteTargets, reportRemoteTargets, reportOwnPosition) will help community content creators to include this new feature in their assets. Head over to the forums to chat with our devs and provide your feedback. It's much appreciated!

That said, not all of the recent additions are directly associated with the Jets DLC. Our developers are working tirelessly on improving the game overall. For example, a new "hasUnderbarrel" weapon animation source has landed to Dev-Branch recently and offers more possibilities for modders. Also, the well-known Dammaged Event Handler was extended with additional arguments (documented on the Community Wiki). Aside from that, the enableEnvironment script command was optimized to work more reliably. Last but not least, Senior Programmer Jakub Horyna fixed a longstanding issue with flags, which now can be used in CTF scenarios in the same way as in the early days of Arma.

LOGISTICS

The Arma 3 Feedback Tracker now allows for logging in via existing accounts like Facebook or Google Account. We hope this will help decrease the barrier of entry for registering and submitting issues. The goal being of course to make Arma 3 even more splendid!

SITUATION

The development team is now preparing a Release Candidate build for public testing. If things go well, we intend to make it available to the community later this week. Internally, we're also very much in the production phase of all of this year's planned additions, which are now all starting to come together nicely.

INTELLIGENCE

The latest Dev Photo shows the commitment of ARMAnet Podcast hosts Reaver and Dagger to present their audience with new episodes. With Bohemia Interactive Project Leads, Petr Kolář and Joris-Jan van 't Land, finally making their appearance on the show, the four of them discuss the turbulent history of Arma 3's development, explain some decisions that shaped to become Arma 3 as we know it now, and provide a glimpse into the future of the game and platform. We can recommend subscribing to their show for interesting segments like Units discussions, mod-maker interviews, scenario design tips and all other things Arma 3. Kudos to the podcast crew, and we hope we'll talk again!

Isla Duala[/b], a terrain made by a well-known community modder IceBreakr, has recently been updated on the Steam Workshop! More than 100 square kilometers of African terrain provide more than enough opportunities to discover new kinds of warfare. This update improves the satellite textures, adds particle effects for units, and much more. Splendid work, IceBreakr!

The art of developing animations and editing characters in the Real Virtuality engine is one of the most difficult tasks, both for ourselves and our community. However, practice makes perfect, and so Mondkalb (Animation Lead at Bohemia Interactive Simulations) came up with a rather creative way of tweaking the animation sources and show off his mastery of the tech. The author describes his admirable goals for the release as: "The main reason for this release is to get the sources out for others to learn from. It's a fully independent character setup in Arma 3 using all the things there are. Animations, Ragdoll, Weapons, Clothes Swapping, Head and Face textures, lip movement and of course hats." Watching those yellow-brick toy characters come to life and rag-dolling on Arma 3's terrains is one of the most hilarious (yet educational!) things we've seen in a while!

OPERATIONS

Over the past weeks, the artists in our Team Mike studio have been working on improving the structures on all Arma 3 terrains. With careful attention to detail, our buildings now display shadows and light more realistically by tweaking their Ambient Occlusion configurations. As per usual, we're asking you, the community, to provide us with your feedback. Head over to the respective forums thread for more Intel and do not hesitate to leave a comment.

Some of our players have been reporting an issue where their game performance degrades drastically over time. We've already spent months hunting the infamous '3FPS Issue'. The process has led to various improvements and fixes, but we have not yet been able to find the full cure. Project Lead Petr Kolář asks the community for help on the forums once more: "As we are yet unable to reproduce said behavior on our internal machines, we need your help to crush this issue. There is a Feedback Tracker ticket about this issue, we would like to ask anyone experiencing said behavior to collect their dxdiag data (simply by typing "dxdiag" in their start menu and saving the profile, removing the Machine Name and Machine ID parts) and trying to get minidumps of their memory prior and after the issue using ProcDump (thanks to the guys from Microsoft for recommending this software to us)." We hope to have some results soon and will continue the pursuit for a solution. We once again apologize to anyone affected. Ensuring a more consistent game performance is and will remain our priority.

The number of entries in the #Armachinima Awards submissions is growing rapidly. Now that the deadline of February 13 is approaching, we would like to suggest everyone who is still looking to participate to submit their entries as soon as possible. We have found that it is not unusual for there to be some issues with entries, which might even require you to update the videos and re-submit. As such, sending us your video on the last day could be risky, and potentially lead to disqualification due to a lack of time for making adjustments. Specifically, we'd like to warn everyone to make sure that the music (and possible voice-overs) in your video is NOT copyrighted or that you have clear permission from the music's author (you are welcome to use the music from the official Arma soundtracks). In addition, the video must NOT be monetized on YouTube. We wish all video creators the best of luck in this final week. Public voting for 10 nominees starts on February 14th. Let's get the popcorn ready!

LOGISTICS

Bohemia Interactive's Server Monetization program, which allows server hosts to monetize their Arma 3 server(s) as long as they are registered, approved, and listed, has been extended for another year without any policy changes for Arma 3. The extended period expires on January 31st 2018. Be sure to read the FAQ section before applying.

SITUATION

The development team is now experiencing the freezing beauty of European winter. All the more reason for us to run away to the warmer regions of Altis and Tanoa! Over the past two weeks, we've introduced several platform improvements, released three security updates, and announced a new contest for our creative community. In parallel, our teams in various physical locations are also hard at work on the various deliverables of the 2017 roadmap. Let's take a look!

INTELLIGENCE

We've always enjoyed watching the splendid Arma 3 video content from our community, and thus we're very proud to announce the #Armachinima Awards contest. In cooperation with NVIDIA, we decided to start a competition to pick the ultimate machinima among Arma 3 content creators. The submission deadline is February 13th. Members of the community will be able to vote and select ten finalists. After that, the Arma 3 development team will choose the winners of several top-tier graphics cards provided by NVIDIA. With already more than 35 entries, there's already plenty to watch for everybody! If you're planning to submit a video, keep in mind that your entry should not include copyrighted music or (addon) content. Plus, make sure that Monetization on your YouTube video is disabled. Of course you're welcome to use music from the official Arma soundtracks. Click here for more information about the contest rules. Good luck to everyone!

The recent Dev Photo exposes our colleagues to Czech winter. With recent temperatures falling deep below 0° Celsius, even a lunchtime walk sends chills to the bones. Luckily, our Mike office is well-equipped with all necessary supplies and heating, and with the property guarded by our own Main Battle Tank, nothing stands in the way of delivering more improvements to the Arma 3 platform.

Project Argo's Creative Director Ivan Buchta and Art Director Petr Motejzík have selected the winners in the Create-Your-Own Billboard contest. Bringing an original vibe to the re-imagination of the first Arma title's terrain, the jury announced the best out of dozens of submissions. Ivan expands on the variety of entries: "There were many great ideas among the entries, often borrowing from the existing brands of Armaverse or promoting Tanoa (awesome to see how popular this terrain is!). We were particularly pleased by the advertisements promoting the local products." How is that relevant to Arma 3? The winning billboards will also be featured on the Malden terrain that will be released as a free Arma 3 DLC later this year.

Taunus, a new terrain made by the X-Cam team, has landed on the Armaholic website! Using the X-Cam tool, terrain creators were able to fill more than 400 square kilometers of land with highly detailed compositions, forests, towns and landmarks. Excellent work!

The Arma community demonstrates its creativity yet again in an unusual thread on the /r/Arma subreddit. Using in-game screenshots, players attempted to re-create real-life photos and other iconic imagery. Some of the results are really impressive. Be sure to check the gallery.

OPERATIONS

The last two weeks brought several improvements to Dev-Branch. Perhaps the most significant change is that there will only be a 64-bit version of the Diagnostics Executable going forward. Used mainly by community creators, we'd like to offer better stability and resource usage for this highly specialized tool and decided to abandon the obsolete 32-bit configuration. Scenario makers will surely welcome the changes to the Killed, MPKilled and EntityKilledEvent Handlers. These were extended with a damage effect value, you can find the documentation on the Community Wiki.

A new mapOrientation parameter allows setting the rotation of the GPS screen either with player's direction, or with player weapon's direction. Again, this improvement is already documented on the Community Wiki and we believe it will bring improvements to the Arma 3 sandbox and scenarios.

The last honorable mention is part of the new platform features associated with the upcoming Jets DLC. Designer Ondřej Kužel explains the changes: "All vanilla tanks, anti-air platforms, helicopters and jets have been updated to the improved Sensor technology. We've added different IR and Radar signatures to individual vehicles. This makes the Blackfish VTOL appear on the Radars more than 2.5x further away than a Hummingbird for example."

LOGISTICS

In cooperation with BattlEye, we have updated the game with enhanced anti-cheat protection three times during the last two weeks. Feel free to inspect the reports (#00012, #00013, #00014), read BattlEye's FAQ and contact their support in case of any questions.

SITUATION

The development team is back from their winter holidays and is fully operational. The production of 2017's deliverables is in full swing and we're set for another year of support and another year of Arma 3.

INTELLIGENCE

The community redditors might have seen quite an original request on the Arma subreddit. DaCrazyJamez was looking for somebody to bring the face of his father to Arma 3 as a Christmas present. To the surprise of many, our Junior Artist Stefan Verbeek from Bohemia's Amsterdam office responded and offered his help. After receiving all needed reference files, he created and delivered the textures in his free time and even provided a simple tutorial for those who would like to bring their own custom faces to Arma 3. To match the Christmas spirit, DaCrazyJamez promised to donate to charity for Stan's work (who worked free of charge). Great gesture!

We're happy to see that the continuous updates for Arma 3 and its bustling community is paying off, with Arma 3 making it into the Steam Top Sellers of 2016. Also, the number of concurrent players climbed almost to its all time record in the past few weeks. We're very grateful for the enduring support even three years after the release. To all the new recruits who have joined the community: welcome!

The Arma Finland community group released a beautiful 'Year in Review' video on YouTube. Looking back at 2016, we're treated with some spectacular footage of their operations, various community terrains, Finnish comms (which we don't really understand), along with some extraordinary moments. As we all really enjoy such montages and machinimas, there will be an announcement connected to this kind of video content very soon™. Thanks to Arma Finland for the entertainment!

Red Hammer Studios, community modders and Make Arma Not War winners, have shared an interesting insight into the creation of a vehicle for their already extensive library. From a low-poly model to a highly detailed asset, viewers are taken through the development process of the RG33L 6X6 MRAP. RHS member Richards describes the struggles met along the way and shares interesting bits of this 6-month long journey. We'd also like to congratulate RHS on being in the top 10 best mods of 2016 according to the voters at ModDB. Splendid work!

Then to share something completely different with you. This morning, we received the sad news that Paul "Bushlurker" Pelosi has passed away after a battle with cancer. Paul has been a long-time custom Arma terrain maker, and we consider this a great loss for our community - but most importantly, we wish his family, friends, and everyone close to him a lot of strength in this difficult time!

OPERATIONS

In the last week of Dev-Branch updates before our holiday break, our Dev-Branch players were given some goodies to play with. The first part of the features connected to Arma 3's upcoming Jets DLC aims to add more depth to vehicle vs vehicle warfare. Let's take a look at these additions and what they bring to our players.

Sensor Overhaul is a series of improvements to the ways vehicles are detecting other assets operating in their radar reach. Introducing a new symbology, rules for specific vehicle types, and overhauling target detection in general, both vanilla and modded vehicles can benefit from the countless gameplay possibilities waiting to be discovered.

Extended Hitpointsfor airplanes aim to bring the damage model of air assets on par with other vehicles. As a result, players have more possibilities to escape even with a severely damaged airplane while fighting some previously unseen difficulties, such as fuel leaks or a malfunctioning HUD. As with the previous feature, please share your feedback on the respective forums thread. It's much appreciated

LOGISTICS

Bohemia Interactive is looking for new colleagues to join its ranks. Be sure to visit the Careers page. There might be a position just for you. Some of those are directly connected to Arma 3's development (e.g. Gameplay Programmer or QA Assistant). Please do not hesitate to contact us for more details on the advertised positions via the forms on the page.